CENTERVILLE — Utility matters and the future of a possible apartment complex were discussed during the city of Centerville’s latest work session.
During the meeting, the city proclaimed April as “Safe Digging Month.” Mayor John Harley encouraged citizens to call 811 if they plan on digging on their property, sharing a personal experience with broken utilities.
“Always call 811 before digging. Safety is no accident. Calling 811 is like 911, but call 811. It’s a good thing to have. I remember years ago I was digging on the side of my driveway, didn’t have cable for a few days, didn’t realize I had hit a line. I should have called ahead of time,” he said.
Moving on to more utility matters, council approved the purchase of a vehicle for the stormwater department. According to Director of Operations Mike Brumfield, the department wants to purchase a 2024 Ford F-150 Super Cab. The lowest bid was from Phil Brannen Ford of Perry for around $48,000.
The council also recommended building a new apartment complex as part of the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing. Previously, through this program, the city assisted in bringing the Abbington at Galleria Mall apartments to Centerville.
During the city’s April 2 meeting, Economic Development Director Shannon Bryant presented Sentry Apartments as a candidate.
According to documents by Talon Development, the apartment’s developers, the complex will be a 73-unit multifamily apartment building on Houston Lake Boulevard. The units will feature modern finishes, washer/dryer hookups and walk-in closets.
The apartments will have security cameras outside, a fitness center, a laundromat, a playground, a covered pavilion and ADA-accessible gardens.
Talon applied last year but missed out by half a point, based on guidelines from a rubric used by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. During the April 16 meeting, Bryant suggested the city award its GICH point to the Sentry Apartments for 2024.
“The housing team met; we scored the projects we were presented, we decided unanimously that this is the project we want to support. And now we are asking for mayor and council support as well,” she said.
Answering a question from councilman J. Micheal Evans, Bryant said the recommendation comes from two potential applications. She mentioned the housing team notified the other project they believed was not the best choice, and the other project withdrew their application.
With the city’s recommendation, the project moves on to DCA scoring. Councilman Justin Wright asked whether DCA would consider funding another project in the city. Bryant responded, saying the city’s likelihood is good, considering the project only missed by a small margin last year, and downsides are out of the city’s control.
“There is no public transportation anywhere in the county. That scores negatively, or does not score positively on the application process. And so there are outside factors that we can’t do anything about. Everything we’re able to do or have any control over, we score really well on,” she said.
Wright also expressed possible concern about DCA’s hesitation to award multiple projects nearby. Bryant said the housing team took this into account when they chose Sentry as their recommendation.
“The other project that was presented to us, more than likely had we selected it, would not have favored as well, because [of] the proximity of it to the current project,” she explained.
Harley thanked Bryant and the housing team for their work, while she thanked the Middle Georgia Regional Commission for assistance developing their scoring system.
“They did work with us in developing a scoring rubric that makes it a fair and equitable process for any program that’s presented to us, for us to look at it from that perspective and be able to evaluate it as DCA would be evaluating it,” she said.
If Talon is awarded funding from the initiative, the apartment complex will likely be completed by June 2027.
For a complete look at the city council’s work session and supporting documents, visit here.
The next city council meeting is scheduled for May 7, 6 p.m., at Centerville City Hall, 300 E. Church Street.
